2 Maccabees 15

Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition

15 But when Nicanor understood that Judas was in the places of Samaria, he purposed to set upon him with all violence on the sabbath day.

²And when the Jews that were constrained to follow him, said: Do not act so fiercely and barbarously, but give honour to the day that is sanctified: and reverence him that beholdeth all things:

³That unhappy man asked, if there were a mighty One in heaven, that had commanded the sabbath day to be kept.

⁴And when they answered: There is the living Lord himself in heaven, the mighty One, that commanded the seventh day to be kept,

⁵Then he said: And I am mighty upon the earth, and I command to take arms, and to do the king's business. Nevertheless he prevailed not to accomplish his design.

⁶So Nicanor being puffed up with exceeding great pride, thought to set up a public monument of his victory over Judas.

⁷But Machabeus ever trusted with all hope that God would help them.

⁸And he exhorted his people not to fear the coming of the nations, but to remember the help they had before received from heaven, and now to hope for victory from the Almighty.

⁹And speaking to them out of the law, and the prophets, and withal putting them in mind of the battles they had fought before, he made them more cheerful:

¹⁰Then after he had encouraged them, he shewed withal the falsehood of the Gentiles, and their breach of oaths.

¹¹So he armed every one of them, not with defence of shield and spear, but with very good speeches and exhortations, and told them a dream worthy to be believed, whereby he rejoiced them all.

¹²Now the vision was in this manner: Onias who had been high priest, a good and virtuous man, modest in his looks, gentle in his manners, and graceful in his speech, and who from a child was exercised in virtues, holding up his hands, prayed for all the people of the Jews:

¹³After this there appeared also another man, admirable for age, and glory, and environed with great beauty and majesty:

¹⁴Then Onias answering, said: This is a lover of his brethren, and of the people of Israel: this is he that prayeth much for the people, and for all the holy city, Jeremias the prophet of God.

¹⁵Whereupon Jeremias stretched forth his right hand, and gave to Judas a sword of gold, saying:

¹⁶Take this holy sword a gift from God, wherewith thou shalt overthrow the adversaries of my people Israel.

¹⁷Thus being exhorted with the words of Judas, which were very good, and proper to stir up the courage, and strengthen the hearts of the young men, they resolved to fight, and to set upon them manfully: that valour might decide the matter, because the holy city and the temple were in danger.

¹⁸For their concern was less for their wives, and children, and for their brethren, and kinsfolks: but their greatest and principal fear was for the holiness of the temple.

¹⁹And they also that were in the city, had no little concern for them that were to be engaged in battle.

²⁰And now when all expected what judgment would be given, and the enemies were at hand, and the army was set in array, the beasts and the horsemen ranged in convenient places,

²¹Machabeus considering the coming of the multitude, and the divers preparations of armour, and the fierceness of the beasts, stretching out his hands to heaven, called upon the Lord, that worketh wonders, who giveth victory to them that are worthy, not according to the power of their arms, but according as it seemeth good to him.

²²And in his prayer he said after this manner: Thou, O Lord, who didst send thy angel in the time of Ezechias king of Juda, and didst kill a hundred and eighty-five thousand of the army of Sennacherib:

²³Send now also, O Lord of heaven, thy good angel before us, for the fear and dread of the greatness of thy arm,

²⁴That they may be afraid, who come with blasphemy against thy holy people. And thus he concluded his prayer.

²⁵But Nicanor, and they that were with him came forward, with trumpets and songs.

²⁶But Judas, and they that were with him, encountered them, calling upon God by prayers:

²⁷So fighting with their hands, but praying to the Lord with their hearts, they slew no less than five and thirty thousand, being greatly cheered with the presence of God.

²⁸And when the battle was over, and they were returning with joy, they understood that Nicanor was slain in his armour.

²⁹Then making a shout, and a great noise, they blessed the Almighty Lord in their own language.

³⁰And Judas, who was altogether ready, in body and mind, to die for his countrymen, commanded that Nicanor's head, and his hand with the shoulder should be cut off, and carried to Jerusalem.

³¹And when he was come thither, having called together his countrymen, and the priests to the altar, he sent also for them that were in the castle,

³²And shewing them the head of Nicanor, and the wicked hand, which he had stretched out, with proud boasts, against the holy house of the Almighty God,

³³He commanded also, that the tongue of the wicked Nicanor, should be cut out and given by pieces to birds, and the hand of the furious man to be hanged up over against the temple.

³⁴Then all blessed the Lord of heaven, saying: Blessed be he that hath kept his own place undefiled.

³⁵And he hung up Nicanor's head in the top of the castle, that it might be an evident and manifest sign of the help of God.

³⁶And they all ordained by a common decree, by no means to let this day pass without solemnity:

³⁷But to celebrate the thirteenth day of the month of Adar, called, in the Syrian language, the day before Mardochias' day.

³⁸So these things being done with relation to Nicanor, and from that time the city being possessed by the Hebrews, I also will here make an end of my narration.

³⁹Which if I have done well, and as it becometh the history, it is what I desired: but if not so perfectly, it must be pardoned me.

⁴⁰For as it is hurtful to drink always wine, or always water, but pleasant to use sometimes the one, and sometimes the other: so if the speech be always nicely framed, it will not be grateful to the readers. But here it shall be ended.

'2 Maccabees 15 ' not found for the version: English Standard Version.

2 Maccabees 15

Common English Bible

Nicanor’s defeat

15 Nicanor learned that Judas’ forces were in the region of Samaria, so he wanted to attack them on the day of rest when there would be no risk. ²But the Jews who were compelled to follow him said, “No! Don’t destroy with such cruelty and savagery, but respect the day that is honored with holiness above all others by the one who observes all.”

³The repeat offender asked if there was in heaven some mighty one who commanded the keeping of the Sabbath day.

⁴They declared, “The living Lord himself, the ruler in heaven, commands us to keep the seventh day.”

⁵Nicanor replied, “And I am the ruler on earth who commands you to take up arms and to carry out the royal orders.” Nevertheless, he didn’t succeed in carrying out his terrible plan.

⁶Nicanor, holding his head high with all his boasting, decided to build a public monument marking the defeat of Judas’ forces. ⁷But the Maccabee was fully confident in his hope of obtaining the Lord’s help. ⁸So he encouraged his troops not to fear the Gentiles’ attack but to remember the aid they had previously received from heaven and to look for victory from the almighty now. ⁹Reassuring them with words from the Law and the Prophets, and reminding them of the struggles they had overcome, he made them even more eager. ¹⁰Stirring up their spirits, he gave them orders and pointed out at the same time the treachery of the Gentiles and their violation of solemn pledges. ¹¹He armed each of them not so much with the security of shields and spears as with the encouragement of good words. He also told them about a trustworthy dream—a kind of waking vision—which raised everyone’s morale.

¹²In his vision, Judas saw Onias, who had been high priest and was virtuous, good, modest in all things, gentle of manners, and well-spoken. From childhood he had learned all things that properly belong to a good moral life. This man had his hands extended to pray for the entire nation of the Jews. ¹³Then in the same manner, another man, noteworthy for his gray hair and dignity, appeared with astonishing and splendid glory. ¹⁴Onias said, “This man is one who loves his brothers and sisters and prays many prayers for the people and the holy city: God’s prophet Jeremiah.”

¹⁵Jeremiah extended his strong hand and gave to Judas a gold sword, saying, ¹⁶“Take this holy sword as a gift from God, and with it you will destroy your enemies.”

¹⁷Judas’ eloquent and powerful words urged them on to courage and made the young men’s spirits brave. They determined not to prepare for a long campaign but to attack honorably and fight hand-to-hand with all courage. In this way the matter would be decided, as danger faced their city, the holy things, and the temple. ¹⁸They weren’t as concerned for their women and children, or their brothers and relatives, as they were for the holy temple. ¹⁹Those trapped in the city were also very anxious, fearful of an attack in the open. ²⁰Everyone was waiting for the upcoming conflict, with fighting units already formed, soldiers drawn up in battle order, beasts sent to strategic positions, and cavalry arranged on either side. ²¹The Maccabee saw the masses that were before him, the diverse sorts of equipped military arms, and the fierceness of the elephants, so he extended his hands to heaven and called on the wonder-working Lord. He knew that it isn’t through arms that God decides to award victory but he gives it to those who deserve it. ²²He prayed like this: “You, my Lord, sent your angel to Hezekiah king of Judah and he killed one hundred eighty-five thousand from Sennacherib’s camp. ²³Now ruler of the heavens, send a good angel in front of us to cause fear and trembling. ²⁴May your mighty arm terrify those who come with verbal insults against your holy people.” With that he stopped speaking.

²⁵Nicanor’s forces advanced with trumpet calls and battle cries. ²⁶But Judas’ men battled against their enemies with appeals and prayers. ²⁷Fighting with their hands but praying to God with their hearts and rejoicing in God’s appearance, they killed no fewer than thirty-five thousand soldiers. ²⁸When they returned from the battle to their camp with joy, they found Nicanor lying dead in full armor. ²⁹With shouts and excitement, they praised the ruler in their native language. ³⁰Their leader, who had always fought for the citizens with body and soul and had carefully preserved the goodwill toward his fellow citizens from his youth, commanded that Nicanor’s head and arm be cut off and carried to Jerusalem. ³¹After arriving there, Judas called together his fellow citizens, stationed the priests at the altar, and sent for those from the elevated fortress.^[a]

³²He displayed the head of the repulsive Nicanor and the slanderer’s hand, which he had extended against the almighty’s holy house while uttering great boasts. ³³He cut out the tongue of the ungodly Nicanor and ordered that it be given to the birds in pieces, and he hung the rewards of his stupidity in front of the temple. ³⁴Looking to heaven, everyone praised the Lord, who had made himself known, saying, “Blessed is the one who kept his own holy place pure.” ³⁵Judas hung Nicanor’s head from the elevated fortress in plain sight of all, as a clear sign of the Lord’s help. ³⁶The people decided to issue a regulation forbidding anyone to forget this day but reminding all to celebrate the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, called Adar^[b] in the Syrian language, the day before Mordecai’s day.

³⁷After things turned out this way with Nicanor, the Hebrews controlled the city from that time on. So at this point I will stop. ³⁸If the story was told effectively, this is what I wanted. But if it was told in a poor and mediocre fashion, this was the best I could do. ³⁹Just as it is harmful to drink wine or water alone while wine mixed with water is delightful and produces joy, so also may the writing of this story delight the ears of those who encounter this work.

The end.